A house has increased in value by 36% since it was purchased. If the current value is $578,000, what was the value when it was purchased?

1 Answer
Dec 11, 2016

The value when it was purchased was $425,000

Explanation:

The formula for calculating the percent change over time is:

#p = (N - O)/O*100# where #p# is the percent change, #N# is the New Value and #O# is the Old Value. In this problem we are given #p# (36) and the New Value ($578,000). We can substitute this into the formula and solve for #O#:

#36 = (578000 - O)/O * 100#

#36/100 = (578000 - O)/O * 100/100#

#36/100 = (578000 - O)/O#

#(36*O)/100 = O((578000 - O))/O#

#0.36*O = cancel(O)((578000 - O))/cancel(O)#

#0.36*O = 578000 - O#

#0.36*O + O = 578000 - O + O#

#1.36 O = 578000#

#(1.36 O)/1.36 = 578000/1.36#

#(cancel(1.36) O)/cancel(1.36) = 425000#

#O = 425000#